08-09-2004, 08:08 AM
A good general description of battlefield replacements, from Appian's account of Philippi:<br>
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"They had little need of volleys of arrows, or stones or javelins, according to the custom of war, since they made no use of the other techniques and manoevers of battle, but came to grips with drawn swords, inflicting and receiving thrusts and trying to push each other out of formation... and as the bodies were carried back out of the way fresh men took their place from the reserves. The commanders, riding about and visible everywhere, urged the men on in their surges forward... and relieved those who were exhausted, so there was always fresh spirit at the front. Finally, Octavian's troops started to dislodge the enemy line, as though they were tipping over a very heavy piece of machinery. Their opponents were pushed back foot by foot... but once their formation had been disrupted they retreated more rapidly, and as the reserves of the second and third line joined the retreat they all became mixed together..." (Appian IV.128.)<br>
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Particularly interesting is the line about 'their surges forward' - this implies that the two lines were not in constant contact, but that the battle was a series of short clashes, with one side or the other pushing forward, engaging, and then holding steady to dress ranks and remove casualties. The 'commanders' (and I don't have this in the original to check the correct term used - whether it be centurions, tribunes, legates or whatever Greek alternative Appian used) would therefore have been able to coordinate the steady reinforcement of the front line from the reserves - the second and third lines, as the text later makes clear. <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p200.ezboard.com/bromanarmytalk.showUserPublicProfile?gid=nathanross@romanarmytalk>Nathan Ross</A> at: 8/9/04 6:53 pm<br></i>
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"They had little need of volleys of arrows, or stones or javelins, according to the custom of war, since they made no use of the other techniques and manoevers of battle, but came to grips with drawn swords, inflicting and receiving thrusts and trying to push each other out of formation... and as the bodies were carried back out of the way fresh men took their place from the reserves. The commanders, riding about and visible everywhere, urged the men on in their surges forward... and relieved those who were exhausted, so there was always fresh spirit at the front. Finally, Octavian's troops started to dislodge the enemy line, as though they were tipping over a very heavy piece of machinery. Their opponents were pushed back foot by foot... but once their formation had been disrupted they retreated more rapidly, and as the reserves of the second and third line joined the retreat they all became mixed together..." (Appian IV.128.)<br>
<br>
Particularly interesting is the line about 'their surges forward' - this implies that the two lines were not in constant contact, but that the battle was a series of short clashes, with one side or the other pushing forward, engaging, and then holding steady to dress ranks and remove casualties. The 'commanders' (and I don't have this in the original to check the correct term used - whether it be centurions, tribunes, legates or whatever Greek alternative Appian used) would therefore have been able to coordinate the steady reinforcement of the front line from the reserves - the second and third lines, as the text later makes clear. <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p200.ezboard.com/bromanarmytalk.showUserPublicProfile?gid=nathanross@romanarmytalk>Nathan Ross</A> at: 8/9/04 6:53 pm<br></i>
Nathan Ross
